WASHINGTON/BAGHDAD, 8 August — Iraqis braced for a US attack yesterday as America’s top military brass threw their unanimous support behind any use of military force to overthrow President Saddam Hussein.

Saddam announced plans to address his nation today while US President George W. Bush said Baghdad posed "real threats" but that he would consult with Congress and allies on how to proceed.

Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney made clear no decision had been made to go to war to oust Saddam. But Cheney also said a return of UN weapons inspectors to Iraq may not resolve concerns over Baghdad’s ability to develop weapons of mass destruction.

In an interview with the Associated Press, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the Kingdom will not allow Washington to use its soil to attack Iraq. The prince said his country opposes a US strike on Iraq and, when asked if Saudi Arabia would be willing to allow the US military to use the air control center or any Saudi soil to attack Iraq, he said: "We have told them we don’t (want) them to use Saudi grounds."

"The attack is not the right policy to take, especially since there is a possibility of implementing what the attack is purported to be used for — which is the return of the (UN weapons) inspectors," he said in the interview.

The heads of the four branches of the US armed forces had initially raised some objections to military plans to attack Iraq, worried that US troops could sustain high casualties and the likelihood Saddam would use chemical weapons against them.

But a Bush administration adviser told the Washington Times that the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have "come over because they can read the handwriting on the wall."

In contrast to previous US administrations, when the advice of a general against waging war was usually heeded by the civilian leadership, the Bush administration is packed with civilians who believe that military force is the only way to get rid of Saddam, the administration adviser said.

Leading this group, he said, was Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, who "has the guts for war," the daily quoted a military officer as saying.

The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Army Gen. Tommy Franks, the head of the US Central Command which directs operations in Afghanistan, briefed Bush at the White House Monday on a new plan envisioning a significantly slimmed-down force for an invasion of Iraq.

Franks’ plan was in line with another proposal enjoying support among Bush administration officials, which calls for an invasion force of 50,000 to 80,000 ground troops backed by heavy air power, the Journal said. Franks initially advised the president that 250,000 US troops would be needed for an invasion.

Saddam is set to make a "comprehensive national speech" on television this morning, the Iraqi News Agency said.

The announcement came as Iraq’s foreign minister launched a stinging attack on chief UN arms inspector Hans Blix, calling him another US spy.

On the streets of Baghdad, ordinary people sounded convinced war was inevitable and imminent, although there seemed little enthusiasm for a conflict. Traders and businessmen say sales of luxury goods — such as cars and electronics — have fallen in recent weeks, matched by a slow rise in sales of food and other essentials like petrol and gas.